Leadership Trends
Effective leadership is vital to all successful organizations. The concept of what makes an effective leader is always evolving, though, based on societal standards, expectations and changes in the workplace. As the work environment evolves and leaders adapt their skill set to remain effective, new leadership trends emerge that set the expectation for others.
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Empowerment
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Employee empowerment has increased in use as a motivational strategy during the first decade of the 21st century. Companies are placing more decision-making responsibility in the hands of front line employees. This improves service to customers, but also gives employees a heightened sense of job worth. The Motivation-Tools website describes empowered employees as the "self-motivating work force." Employees assume task responsibilities, and a mutual trust exists between employees and managers.
Broader Vision
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In his "Leadership Trends for 2010" article for Businessweek, Rick Lash says the recession of the last few years has prompted company leaders to rethink their focus. They are taking the opportunity to consider new business approaches and placing more emphasis on how the company's operation impacts the global marketplace and society as a whole. This coincides with increased expectations on companies to operate in a more green-friendly and socially responsible way.
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Greater Roles for Women
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More women have entered the workforce consistently for the last two decades. Lash notes that in 2010, women make up virtually half of the workforce in the United States. As women have become more established in companies, expectations have grown to see more women in leadership and management positions. Lash suggests this has prompted companies to focus on hiring and retaining top female talent and to work diligently to have women well-represented in management positions.
Innovative Thinking
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In a 2007 Center for Creative Leadership study with 247 global executives, "10 Trends" were indicated that are most affecting executives in leadership. Number two was innovative thinking. Growth through product or market innovation is noted as one of the top ways for company's to move forward. The study showed that more than 50 percent of respondents thought their companies were "top in class" in innovation. Executives shared that open idea forums, task forces, cross-functional innovation teams, external focus activities and other innovative processes were being used in their companies to drive innovation.
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References
- Photo Credit leadership business3 image by Andrey Kiselev from Fotolia.com
